Conventional electrical connectors, including data jacks and receptacles, are usually not suitable for certain applications, such as those in harsh environments, which expose the connector to damaging environmental conditions, water, extreme temperatures, vibrations, etc. As such, rugged electrical connectors were developed specifically for harsh environment applications. There is an increasing trend for today's electronic devices to be able to withstand exposure to harsh environments. Typical applications may involve exposure to dust, splashing water or cleaning solutions over the course of their lifetime. However, the known rugged electrical connectors often fail and provide only degraded performance. Enclosures need to be able to withstand these types of risks without causing damage to internal components. Application requirements are requiring more and more products to meet ever increasing levels of environmental protection. Designers must consider the influence of temperature extremes, moisture, solvents, icing, corrosion, fungus, salt exposure etc.